Ghana’s Cranky Uncle Game: Tackling Vaccine Hesitancy in West Africa

According to Gavi and the WHO, vaccine hesitancy is among the greatest threats to global health, a challenge that has only worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), combating vaccine hesitancy is particularly complex due to factors such as limited access to reliable information, mistrust in healthcare systems, cultural beliefs, and widespread misinformation. The pandemic intensified these issues, deepening mistrust in vaccines as fears over safety, side effects, and a preference for traditional remedies became more pervasive, highlighting the need to rebuild trust and improve vaccination rates across these vulnerable regions.   

In response to these heightened challenges in West Africa, Ghana introduced Cranky Uncle Vaccine, a smartphone app and online game developed by misinformation expert Dr. John Cook in collaboration with the Sabin Vaccine Institute, UNICEF, Irimi, and Wendy Cook Design. The game is designed to increase players’ ability to distinguish between vaccine facts and misinformation through humor, interactive gameplay, and relatable scenarios, and is targeted to the general public — including young people and health workers. Co-developed with the local community in Ghana, it incorporates relevant insights into its design to support its effectiveness and is tailored to address the cultural and misinformation challenges unique to Ghana. 

By blending education and entertainment, Cranky Uncle empowers users to critically evaluate vaccine myths and discern between facts and fallacies, helping them make informed decisions that contribute to a stronger public health response in the region.  

Community Co-Design

To ensure the Cranky Uncle Vaccine game resonated with its Ghanaian audience, developers worked closely with local communities through co-design workshops. Young people, health workers, and public health officers participated in adapting the content to make the characters, scenarios, and language culturally relevant and relatable. 

The game was pilot-tested with over 800 participants from urban and peri-urban areas in Greater Accra. The results were encouraging; participants, primarily aged 16 to 30, showed significant shifts in their attitudes toward vaccines. Of the participants who expressed they were unlikely to get vaccinated prior to playing, more than half reported a greater likelihood of getting vaccinated after completing the game. This highlights the game’s effectiveness in increasing vaccine acceptance and intention to vaccinate, which is a proxy for vaccination behavior. 

The game also improved participants’ critical thinking skills. Players demonstrated a greater ability to discern between factual vaccine information and misleading claims, making it easier for them to spot common misinformation tactics. 

A Scalable Tool To Combat Misinformation

By blending education with entertainment, the West African adaptation of the Cranky Uncle game is an innovative approach that builds resilience against misinformation in a fun, accessible way. The success of the game in Ghana illustrates the potential of digital tools to engage younger audiences and improve public health outcomes. 

By helping people understand the tricks used to spread misinformation and improving vaccine literacy, the game is playing a vital role in reshaping attitudes toward vaccination and strengthening public health efforts in West Africa and can serve as a scalable and culturally relevant solution for other countries grappling with similar challenges.